KOTOR The Prodigal Knight
by Chibi Ruka
Summary: A novelization for the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game. Light side female Revan


**Disclaimer - **Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Revan, Carth, Bastila, and all the characters associated belong to Lucas Arts and Bioware. Kiranna Sunrider belongs to me. I'm not making any money off of this, and I am novelizing the game because I like torturing myself.

**Prologue**

**The Fall of the Endar Spire**

From orbit, the planet of Taris looked like a silvery orb interrupted only by small blue patches of ocean. Patterns cris crossed the planet's surface. This silvery city planet was called the Coruscant of the Outer Rim by many, but its prosperous days were long gone. Because of new trade routes, Taris was rapidly becoming obsolete. While some ships still came to trade with the merchants of this planet, Taris was decaying rapidly. Many people also disliked the politics of the planet, the attitude of bigotry and hate accepted by the nobles.

Taris was a multi layered city. The Upper City was where the nobles lived, looking down on the poor from their tall towers, noses upturned. The poor lived in the Lower City, along with many aliens. The Tarisian nobles still had not accepted other species, although the Twi'leks were tolerated up world. Still, it was almost unheard of for a Twi'lek or any other alien to hold any important role in Tarisian society.

Beneath the Lower City was the Undercity. While the Lower City was dangerous in most respects, especially with the eruption of a violent gang war, the Undercity was even more so. This is where the Outcasts lived. They were long forgotten people sent to the Undercity for equally long forgotten crimes. However, it was not the Outcasts that posed any danger to anyone unwarily traveling in the Undercity; it was the Rakghouls.

Rakghouls were horribly mutated people that fed on the flesh of others. It was said that the Undercity bred the disease, but now the Rakghouls could spread it to others with a single bite from their infected teeth. Although a cure was being developed, the plague of the Rakghoul disease remained incurable.

It was not the petty troubles of the planet that had brought the lone Republic cruiser here. Indeed, it was the two Sith Interdictors that stood at either end of the system. They had pulled the Republic ship from hyperspace, and their two intersecting gravity fields combined with the gravity well of Taris and the other planets and moons of the system kept the Republic ship held quite firmly in-system, unable to jump to lightspeed or escape.

Small, silvery Sith fighters swarmed around the ship like insects, blasters scoring the hull. Sometimes they would hit something vital and an explosion would wrack the ship. However, it was not the Sith's intention to destroy the Republic cruiser. No, they would not have gone to the trouble of such an elaborate setup if they wanted to destroy a lone Republic ship. They could do that anytime on the front lines of the war being waged between their two organizations. This ship held something that Lord Malak wanted, and his followers would get him what he wanted, or suffer the consequence of failure.

---

Carth Onasi swore as the ship shuddered from another explosion. At this rate, the _Spire_ wouldn't hold together. He hated to admit it, but the Sith had bested them this time. He cursed Saul Karath's name. That blasted Kath hound of Darth Malak's had to be behind this, he was sure of it. He pounded the console in front of him angrily and turned to face the young woman standing behind him. She gazed at him, her large brown eyes staring back at him placidly. That's what he hated about those damn Jedi, but he had orders to work with them, and he wouldn't disobey orders.

"Bastila," he said, addressing the young Jedi standing before him. "The ship is lost. If you wait around here for them to board, they'll capture you and that's exactly what Malak wants." The young woman's eyebrows drew together. Finally, a sign of emotion! Unfortunately, it appeared she was going to try to argue with him, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Can't we hold on long enough for reinforcements to arrive? This mission is important and if we fail--"

Carth cut her off. "First of all, we don't want more of our ships trapped by those interdictors, and second, I don't even know if we can hold on long enough to get our escape pods launched." Bastila drew in a breath, but Carth continued before she could speak. "I know you're not used to this, but a good commander knows when it's time to throw in the towel, and unfortunately, this is it, sister. We need to evacuate, or everyone's going down with this ship, and you're far too important to the Republic war effort for us to lose you in a fight that we shouldn't have fought in the first place."

"What about my battle meditation?" Bastila protested.

Carth shook his head. He didn't know why he bothered. "It's too late for that. We're a lone ship on the fringes of the Outer Rim. We have no fighter support, and we're pitted against an enemy that's far stronger than us. We're outmatched, _and_ outgunned. I've heard that Battle Meditation is an impressive skill, but I don't think it can help us now. Maybe if you'd been able to use it from the beginning, but at this point, we've lost. It's time to accept defeat."

Bastila looked as though she didn't want to believe him, but finally, she bowed her head in defeat. "All right," she said after a long pause as though she had been trying to weigh her options and finally came to the conclusion that Carth was right. She turned to her companions, a male and a female. They both seemed older than Bastila, but as she spoke, they paid rapt attention to what she said. "Kali, I want you to stay behind in case they send any Dark Jedi with the boarding party. Blasters and vibroblades will be no match for them."

Bastila's words stung Carth, but they rang with a hint of truth. Bastila was right. No ordinary soldier was a match for a Dark Jedi, so in a way, Carth felt reassured that they would have Jedi backup.

Bastila continued. "Once the crew has evacuated, get to the escape pods. Do your best to wait until everyone is gone before you go yourself."

"I understand," Kali replied, regret and sadness reflecting in her eyes. It was difficult for her to accept defeat, and she could feel Bastila's sadness radiating like waves through the Force.

The other Jedi placed a hand on Bastila's shoulder. "We should go," he urged. Bastila nodded and did not reply, but allowed her companion to guide her off the bridge.

Carth watched Bastila leave, and once the door slid shut behind her, he turned to his console and gave the order to abandon ship.

---

Kiranna Sunrider hadn't been sleeping well of late. Her dreams were full of smoke and mirrors, phantoms of people and worlds she had never seen before, but seemed so familiar and so real to her. The thing that troubled her most was that when she woke up, she wouldn't remember any of it, and when she thought about it, trying to bring up the images, all she got for her effort was a headache.

The ship was wracked by an explosion that sent Kiranna tumbling out of bed in a tangle of bed sheets and limbs. She sat up, rubbing her head and looked around, disoriented. Where was she again? She was on a ship . . . that much was apparent to her. Looking out the viewport, she saw a Sith fighter whiz by, blasters blazing. They were under attack! She stood up, picking up her sheet and wrapping it around herself as an afterthought.

Just as she had finished covering her nude form, the door opened and a young man burst inside. "We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The _Endar Spire_ is under attack! Hurry up, we don't have much time!" he exclaimed by way of greeting.

Kiranna wasn't sure of what to think of this new development. Of course, she had already figured out that they were under attack, anyone with eyes could see that. "Who the hell are you?" she asked, adjusting her sheet to make sure nothing was exposed. If the man noticed, he didn't react.

"My name is Trask Ulgo. I'm an ensign with the Republic fleet and your bunkmate here on the _Spire._ We work opposite shifts, which is probably why you've never seen me before," He replied. Now that Kiranna had that out of the way, she took a moment to examine him more closely. Although he appeared rather young, Trask had white hair. He was tall and dressed in the red and gold uniform of the Republic Navy. He had a blaster pistol and a vibrosword strapped to his side.

When she didn't move, Trask said, "Hurry up, we've got to find Bastila and make sure she gets off the ship alive!"

This was turning out to be quite an eventful day. "Who's Bastila?" Kiranna asked wearily. It was probably a stupid question, but she wanted to know who she was leaving the relative safety of her quarters to go save.

"Bastila is the commanding officer of this ship. Well, not an officer really, but she's the commander of this mission," he explained. "Look, you swore an oath just like everyone else on this ship. Now it's time to make good on that oath. I've heard what everyone's been saying about you. You've explored the farthest reaches of the galaxy. You've been to worlds I've never even heard of. People with your skills and abilities are hard to find. It's no wonder the Republic recruited you for this mission, but now it's time to prove yourself!"

Kiranna was impressed by how much her bunkmate knew about her. People on the ship must have been talking about her. At least the rumors appeared to be good ones.

"Now let's go. Bastila needs all hands at her side during the attack!" Trask exclaimed, motioning at the door.

"Okay, let's go help Bastila, but first, I need to get dressed."

Trask looked like he had just really looked at her for the first time. His face turned bright red. "I'll uh—let you do that," he said, turning his back so he was facing the door.

Kiranna waited until she was sure he wasn't going to try and sneak a peek, then threw the sheet onto the bed. She quickly opened the footlocker at the end of her bed, taking out a shirt, a vest, a rugged-looking pair of pants, and boots that looked like she wore them everywhere with their scuffs and scratches.

She quickly dressed and took the final items from the footlocker. She strapped her belt around her waist and checked the charge on her blaster's power pack, making sure it was fully charged. When she was satisfied, she slipped the weapon into its holster and sheathed her sword.

"Alright I'm ready. Let's move out," she said when she was done.

Trask faced her and nodded. "This room is in lock down because of the attack, but don't worry, I've got the override code." The young Republic officer moved to the door and inputted his code. The door slid open obediently. The pair left the safety of their quarters and went out into the corridor beyond.

Signs of the battle were everywhere here. Ceiling panels had fallen to the floor. The overhead lights flickered and the red alert lights on the walls flashed. Klaxons blared in the background, and a lone astromech stood by the door, repairing a smoking, sparking power coupling. The deck shuddered beneath them, and Kiranna stumbled. Trask lent a hand to steady her.

They found the door at the end of the corridor locked, and Trask wordlessly sliced it.

Kiranna knew the journey to the bridge wouldn't be an easy one. If the Sith were indeed boarding the _Spire_, there were sure to be many battles ahead. She steeled herself, trying to prepare herself for the battles to come. She had never taken a life before, but she knew that she would have no choice if she was to survive herself.

As Trask and Kiranna entered the next corridor, they came on the tail end of a firefight. Two Republic soldiers were fighting three Sith. The Republic men fired their blasters at the Sith who dodged the blasts or let their reflective silver armor absorb them. The Sith returned fire, shooting one of the Republic men in the chest. He fell back to the deck as his comrade killed one of the Sith, only to be killed himself.

"This must be the advance boarding party," Trask observed. He raised his blaster like a General raising his sword for a charge. "For the Republic!" he cried, charging into battle. Kiranna wisely kept her distance, drawing her own blaster and shooting one of the Sith through the faceplate. Trask shot the other one at point-blank range.

Trask knelt beside one of the fallen Republic men, obviously a friend. Kiranna could only watch. People were going to die today. That couldn't be avoided. Kiranna didn't like the reality of it anymore than Trask did, but she knew both sides were going to suffer.

It was hard to think of the Sith as people. Encased in their silver armor with blank faceplates, it was hard to imagine a person inside, but Kiranna knew the Sith soldiers were people too, and although they fought on behalf of the enemy, they weren't necessarily evil. In fact, many of them were just like the Republic soldiers. They were men and women fighting for ideals they may or may not believe in. Kiranna didn't agree with them, but she respected their choices, because she had made a choice just like they had. She had chosen to fight for the Republic, and she would lay down her life for it because she believed in what she was doing, just like the soldiers who lost their lives today.

She bowed her head. She would mourn the loss of the men and women on both sides, thinking of them as the people they were, but she wouldn't hesitate to defend herself for the sake of saving her own life. She placed a comforting hand on Trask's shoulder. "We should move on," she told him. He nodded and passed a hand over the man's eyes to close them, then stood.

"You're right," he replied.

---

Lieutenant Korr was the commander of the Sith boarding party. He walked with an air of authority, a man who was used to being in command. He stepped off the boarding craft, his distinctive red armor identifying him, and his men snapped to attention. Korr smiled under his helmet. His men afforded him the respect he deserved.

Their mission was a simple one: Find the Jedi Bastila and bring her to Lord Malak alive. The mission was turning out to be easier said than done. The Republic were putting up a good fight, despite the Sith's numeric superiority.

One of the men came forward from the ranks and saluted him. "Sir!" he shouted.

"Report," Korr ordered.

"We've searched the crew quarters and the bridge. There's no sign of the Jedi. We have men searching the engine deck and the maintenance shafts, but I would say she's escaped, Sir."

Korr frowned. He had heard stories of what the Sith Lord did to anyone who failed him, and they weren't pretty. He wasn't looking forward to being another subject of such stories. "That is . . . unfortunate," he said, choosing his words carefully. "Lord Malak will be most displeased." He thought for a moment. There was really nothing they could do. If the Jedi escaped, she was gone, and they had failed. "Keep searching. I need to go make my report. When I come back, I expect some good news."

"Sir." The man nodded and turned to the other assembled soldiers, a squad of four. "Let's move out," he said. Korr watched them go, dread seeping through him.

---

Trask and Kiranna were nearly to the bridge. It seemed that every corridor they passed through, every room they entered, was infested by Sith. Battle after battle, Kiranna couldn't help but wonder how much longer they could make it. The battles had taken their toll. Trask's face looked gaunt and his eyes hollow. As they walked, he held his blaster limply in his hand as his eyes scanned the area around them, looking for threats.

Kiranna herself had taken a blaster bolt to the shoulder. It burned and throbbed, even after she had administered kolto to herself. She was too weary to notice. She had seen a lot of death. It seemed everywhere they went, bodies of the soldiers on both sides were strewn across the decks.

The corridor they were in now showed signs of battle as well; carbon scoring on the walls from blaster fire, vibroswords that had been dropped on the deck, bodies of Republic and Sith alike. The lights were flickering and something sparked from the ceiling. Kiranna wondered if anyone was left.

When they reached an intersection, Kiranna glanced around the corner. Her caution paid off. She saw three Sith soldiers standing in a group, blaster rifles held at the ready so they could shoot anyone who came around the corner before they became a threat. She took a frag grenade that she had collected from the body of one of the Sith soldiers off her belt and threw it at the soldier standing in the center of the group, as she had seen one of their own do earlier.

The frag grenade detonated, tearing into armor and flesh. The bodies were tossed into the air from the force of the explosion and they returned to the deck with the _clank_ of metal on metal. They hadn't even known what hit them.

Trask nodded to Kiranna appreciatively and went on ahead of her. They were only one corridor away from the bridge, but as they approached the door, they heard something on the other side: The distinct hissing and spitting of lightsabers clashing.

Before Kiranna could warn Trask, he opened the door. "A Dark Jedi!" he exclaimed; and he wasn't mistaken.

A bald Dark Jedi fought a Jedi, his silver chest plate reflecting the light of his scarlet lightsaber. The movement of his legs was masked by the black wide legged pants he wore. There was a certain madness to the way he swung his lightsaber with powerful swings.

By contrast, the Jedi was a lithe young woman clad in the beiges, browns, and whites of her order. She held her lightsaber close to herself, blocking and parrying with quick, short motions meant to consume as little energy as possible. Kiranna was surprised how easily she seemed to block the Dark Jedi's powerful strikes. Not only was she defending, however. The Dark Jedi left himself open often, and the Jedi exploited these openings with quick, glancing strikes meant to wear down her opponent more quickly.

Her movement was so quick that Kiranna's eyes could hardly keep up. It was no wonder they Dark Jedi seemed completely oblivious to her counterattacks.

The Dark Jedi was wearing down quickly. His face was covered in sweat and he was breathing heavily. Kiranna wondered how long they had been battling. He finally made one fatal mistake and the Jedi took advantage of it, stabbing through his armor and straight into his chest. He slumped to the ground.

She deactivated her lightsaber and was turning toward them when the wall behind her erupted into a violent explosion, killing her instantly. She fell to the deck with a strangled cry.

"That was a Jedi attached to Bastila's party," Trask said as though he were discussing the weather. "Damn! We could have used her help!"

Kiranna couldn't believe that he showed no remorse for her death. He simply stepped around her corpse. She thought back to her previous thoughts and remembered that this was a battleground. Still, she knelt beside the Jedi and closed her eyes. She picked up the remains of the Jedi's lightsaber and vowed to tell Bastila how bravely her comrade had fought today if she saw her.

She hurried after Trask and found him engaged with another group of enemies. She threw another frag grenade in their midst and picked off the survivors.

"The bridge is just through this door. No stopping now," he said. Kiranna nodded and followed him inside.

There was a group of SIth that Kiranna and Trask had to fight with their swords, The viewports were made of highly reinforced transparasteel, but they wouldn't take any chances of puncturing it and being sucked into the vacuum of space. It was far too dangerous to use their blasters here.

The Sith were an easy match. Kiranna and Trask cut them down quickly, and the Republic ensign looked around the bridge. Kiranna already knew Bastila was gone, and Trask confirmed it.

"Bastila isn't here. She must've made it to the escape pods," he said. "We should be getting there ourselves. The Sith want Bastila alive. Now that she's gone, there's no reason for them to not destroy the _Spire_, and us with it if we don't hurry."

"Let's go then," she said. Trask nodded. The two of them exited the bridge. The escape pods weren't far. There was maybe a corridor then the ante chamber between them. Kiranna was going to go left from the bridge, but Trask went straight.

"There's something behind this door," he warned.

Kiranna wanted to tell him not to worry about it. They didn't have to go that way. Before she could say so, he opened the door and a Dark Jedi leered at them and flourished his wicked twin bladed lightsaber on the other side.

"Go! I hold him off!" Trask shouted, drawing his sword.

"Trask! Don't be stupid! That's a Dark Jedi, you're no match for him!" Kiranna shouted at him, hoping to talk some reason into him. He looked back at her and the door slammed shut behind him. Kiranna stood there, stunned, but didn't hear anything from the other side. "Idiot," she murmured, but she hurried on. She wasn't going to let Trask's foolish sacrifice be in vain.

As soon as she was through the door leading to the escape pods, she heard a voice over her personal communicator. "_This is Carth Onasi, does anyone read me?_"

"I read you," she said quickly. She heard a sigh of relief on the other end.

"_I've been tracking your progress through the life support system. Are you injured?"_ Carth asked.

"Aside from a few blaster burns, I'm okay, but Trask . . ." She trailed off.

"_What was that?"_

Kiranna shook her head. "Nothing. I'm okay."

"_Good. You've got to hurry. The Sith have resumed their attack. I don't think the Spire can hold out much longer. I'll continue to monitor you and I'll try to warn you of any danger along the way."_

"Understood."

"_Good. Onasi out."_

Kiranna dropped her hand to her side and sheathed her sword, replacing it for her blaster. She was almost there. She had to make it. She wasn't ready to die, and she wouldn't if she could help it. She charged through Sith single-mindedly until Carth contacted her again and warned her of a batallion of Sith on the other side of the door.

"_You could slice the computer and use the security system against them, or you could repair that battle droid, if you've got enough parts,_" the Commander suggested.

Kiranna opted for the droid. She was a decent slicer, but she was better at fixing things, and the droid wasn't too badly damaged. She had it working in no time, and she programmed it to go ahead of her into the room, drawing the fire of the Sith on the other side. Kiranna used her strategy of throwing a frag grenade into the group and picking off the stragglers. She shot a Sith wearing red armor through the helmet and he slumped to the deck.

Kiranna had a clear run to the escape pods now.

---

General Saul Karath stepped onto the bridge of the _Leviathan_, Lord Malak's flagship. He had just received a report from the boarding party, and he was certain Lord Malak would not like what he had discovered. The General crossed the crew pit and approached the Sith Lord cautiously, but of course, Lord Malak already knew he was there.

The bald, armored Sith Lord turned and his molten gaze found the General's. "What do you have to report?" his mechanical voice inquired. Although General Karath thought the Sith Lord may already know. The fact that Lord Malak made no move toward the General was not reassuring; General Karath had seen first-hand the power of the Force and the heat of Lord Malak's anger.

"The boarding party still has not located Bastila, My Lord," General Karath managed to say with a degree of calmness, though his voice wavered. Lord Malak turned from him, and Karath managed a soft sigh of relief. "Shall we continue searching, My Lord?" he asked, his voice a little stronger this time since he believed that this time, he had escaped Malak's fury.

"No," Lord Malak said, keeping his back to the general. "She has already escaped." Karath didn't know how Lord Malak knew this, but he didn't question the Sith Lord. The power of the Force was a mystery to him, as it was to all but those who were trained to use its awesome power.

Lord Malak stared out the viewport that took up most of the command deck. "She has escaped to the planet below. Send an occupation force and make sure no one enters or leaves the system," Lord Malak commanded.

General Karath saw the wisdom in Lord Malak's order. If no one was allowed to enter or leave the system, the already daunting task of finding a lone Jedi on the surface of a planet with a population of millions seemed just a tiny bit easier. He didn't want to point out to Lord Malak that finding Bastila in the sea of people on Taris would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. So far, he had escaped Lord Malak's wrath, and he preferred to keep it that way. Instead, he bowed. "It will be done, My Lord," he said.

"See that it is," Malak said without turning from the viewport. Karath wondered what the Sith Lord was searching for among the sea of stars and vessels.

"And the _Endar Spire, _my Lord?" he asked as an aside.

"Destroy it. It is of no further use to us."

"But what about our men onboard?" Karath stammered.

Lord Malak looked at him over his shoulder. "They are expendable," he stated. Karath swallowed a lump that formed in his throat, but did not push the matter further.

"As you wish, my Lord," he said at last. He turned to the man at the gunner's station, who was watching him, awaiting his order. Karath nodded and the man turned back to his console. As Karath departed the bridge to make the preparations necessary to follow through with Lord Malak's order, he wondered what exactly he was getting himself into, as he had from the moment Lord Malak took command of the Sith fleet.

---

The door slid open and Commander Carth Onasi turned to face the person who entered the room, his hand hovering over his blaster. When he saw the young scout he had been speaking with over the ship's comm, he smiled. "Good, you've made it," he said, genuinely glad to see he wouldn't be the only survivor. The young woman looked at him wearily, her ice blue eyes sizing him up as though determining whether or not he was a threat. "I'm Carth," he said. The young woman seemed to relax a little and nodded.

"I'm Kiranna Sunrider," she replied. She holstered her blaster and stood up straight. Carth could see she had been through a lot. Her clothes were covered in grime and spatters of blood. The way her eyes darted around the room as if trying to spot an enemy told him that the battles she had just left behind had made her weary.

"You're safe now, Kiranna," he said.

"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you're not one of them?" she asked.

A valid question. "Look, I'm a Republic soldier, like you," he said soothingly. He had seen many situations like this, and he understood her distrust of him, nor did he discourage it. Carth knew –– had learned the hard way –– that sometimes you couldn't trust people.

"Bastila's escape pod is away. We're the last survivors of the _Endar Spire; _there's one escape pod left. There's no reason for us to stay here and get shot by the Sith. Now c'mon! I'll debrief you when we're planet-side."

Kiranna nodded and got into the escape pod before him. He climbed in after her, secured the hatch, and pulled the release. He knew this wasn't over yet. Bastila was still in danger, and he had his orders. He had to find her, and he hoped that Kiranna would help him, once they got out of this alive..._if_ they got out of this alive.

The escape pod blasted off and the escape pod streaked planetward. They had just gotten away when the _Endar Spire_ exploded spectacularly behind them.

**Author's Notes: **I can't even begin to count how many times I edited and revised this before I came up with something I liked. I don't know how much I even like this version, but I'm resolving to not read it again because every time I edited this, it felt like I was pounding my head into a brick wall. Yeah. Anyway, for the most part, I like how this came out, and I'm actually kind of proud of it.

Why do I want to novelize the game? Well, mostly because I can and it would be a challenge. That, and I love KOTOR. It's definitely my favorite Star Wars game, and I've played some pretty good ones in my day. XD I also love the characters, and it's fun to try and get in their heads.

I'm not copying the dialogue word for word, because I would have to script the whole game, and I'd probably be breaking more copyright laws than I might already be. XD Besides, it's no fun if I do it word for word. Kiranna's got her own personality, and I'm hoping to get that through as I go along.

I know the end seems a little rushed, but I didn't want to stop and I didn't know how else I could describe the same battles over and over again. Maybe it just represents the redundancy of the whole thing. XD Anyway, hope everyone enjoys it.


End file.
